Sketches Of A Twenty Something Life
by angrodpallanen
Summary: After four years, someone has been murdered. The close group of friends, as they once were is torn apart. What happened? How did they come this far? Who's dead and who is the killer? Find out more in the new episode 5: Come Back To Me.
1. Sketches Of A TwentySomething Life

Sketches Of A Twenty-Something Life

**Fall 2011**

The graveyard is covered with leaves. Toombs are like stepping stones in a sea of orange, green, brown and red. Under a big tree stands a man, with short, blonde hair. He looks up to the sky as he takes a deep breath. When he turns around he sees another man walking towards him. The other man wears a fancy suit, with a red tie. He looks like a high business man. 'What does he want?' Lucas asks himself."Hello, Mr. Scott", the man says without a friendly smile and with a firm handshake.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Lucas asks with a small hesitation.

"No, I'm afraid not", was the short answer of the man who looks at the grave in front of Lucas.

"I'm very sorry for your lost", he continues. "Thank you", Lucas replies, still a bit uncomfortable.

"My name is detective Kingston, I'm sorry to disturb you on this unfortunate moment, Mr. Scott. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to come with me to the station."Lucas looks at the man, a cop obviously, without any explanation Lucas walks with the man towards his car.

"Does this concern the death of.." Lucas asks carefully when they approach the black Volvo."Yes, I'd like to ask you some questions.""What kind of questions?" Lucas replies instant."The kind I don't like to ask in public, the kind that go back four years." Detective Kingston smiles friendly for the first time and opens the car door. "I can expect you at the station this afternoon, Mr. Scott?""Yes, yes, of course", Lucas replies, even more confused than before. 'Four years ago…', he thinks by himself.

**June 13****th**** 2007**"Hey, are you in for a re-match or are you afraid you get worked?" Nathan asks teasing."Do you really end your night with a lost?" Lucas replies to his brother."Good evening, ladies and gentleman, and welcome to another historical night", Mouth begins exciting.Everybody cheers, waiting for the game of the night to start."You sure you're up for this old man?" Nathan says with a big smile.

"I could do this forever, little brother." Lucas replies confident.Nathan's ready to make a throw, but Lucas jumps to block the ball. He takes over control and drives for the basket. He scores and everybody's screaming and cheering. Nathan smiles again and runs at Lucas, catches the ball and takes a shot at the basket across the court. Again, everybody is cheering when Nathan scores and the two brothers smile teasing to each other. Suddenly, Peyton runs towards the ball, catches it and tries to make the same throw Nathan did at the other basket. She misses and suddenly Haley jumps on the court to get the ball out of Lucas' hands, who caught the ball after Peyton missed. Within a few moments everybody is on the court, separated in the teams of Nathan and Lucas. While Nathan and Lucas still play seriously, the others are just having fun and try to take the ball, to make it more difficult for the brothers. When Nathan makes another point, Lucas dribbles the ball towards his basket, when suddenly, someone hits him with an elbow in the chest. Lucas drops the ball and feels the sharp pain in his chest. He tries to catch breath, but doesn't succeed. His sight gets shady and he keeps on trying to breathe. Mouth notices Lucas troubles and within a moment everybody is panicking. Lucas feels his heart pounding in his chest, he can't, he tries, but he can't breathe. He feels his body weakening and the next moment, he lies on the court, surrounded by his shocked friends and family, screaming his name, calling 911 and hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.**Fall 2011, Tree Hill Police ****Department**

"Please take a seat", Detective Kingston showed Lucas the chair across his desk. Lucas sat down, more confident than before."Again, I'm very sorry for your lost, Mr. Scott", Kingston nodded.

"Yes, of course." Lucas said on a low tone. "I can't remember seeing you here around. Are you new?" he asked sarcastic. "Transfer." Kingston shortly replied. "But that's now why we're here.""Why are we here, Mr. Kingston?" Lucas asked.

"I'm here to get some details about your…accident, four years ago." Kingston replied carefully.

"Oh, yes, that eventful night. I'm guessing you mean the night I had my unfortunate leap of faith?"

"Are you willing to elaborate that?"

"Sure. Why not?" Lucas replied with a sarcastic smile.

**June 14****th**** 2007**"Hey girl, how are you holding up?" Brooke walked over to Peyton who was leaning to a wall with her arms crossed. She took a deep breath before she answered.

"I can't do this anymore, Brooke." Peyton closed her eyes, hoping it would all go away."What? Can't do what?" Brooke asked confused.

"This, the hospitals, waiting for good news when there is no hope. He hasn't woke up yet, Brooke. Two heart attacks within six months, that isn't ok, Brooke, it can't be."

"Hey, hang in there, P. Sawyer. You can do this, you're strong remember. You're a fighter", Brooke hopelessly tried to give Peyton some faith.

"Oh cut it out, Brooke. I'm not a fighter, I mean, I can't have this anymore. The waiting, the hoping, I can't. I need him to wake up, he has to wake up." Peyton started crying and Brooke gave her a hug.

"Hush now, you know it's going to be ok, you have to believe that. Lucas is strong enough, he can make this through, and so can you."

Peyton fought the tears, but they kept coming.

"I can't go to L.A. with you, Brooke", she said disappointed."I know, honey, and I will be here for you" Brooke added."No, Brooke!" Peyton was shocked by Brooke's effort to stay and help her.

"You can't stay, you must go. This is Victoria's Secret, Brooke. You have to go.""I don't have to be in L.A. for that, I can just..""No, Brooke, I will have none of that. You need to go, for you and for me. Ok? That's the only way you can help." Peyton smiled a little and Brooke hugged her again.

Nathan walked over to Haley while holding James. "Here, can you take him?" he asked quietly.

"Sure", Haley smiled as she kissed James on his cheek. "What are you going to do?"she asked Nathan."I think I'm going to the hospital. I just need to see him."Nathan looked at his wife and son, smiled and walked away. Haley smiled back, knowing Nathan was hurt, since the accident Nathan had been punishing himself for what happened to Lucas. According to him it was him ho forced Lucas to play even with his heart condition. Haley had been worried sick for both Lucas and Nathan, but even more for James, who felt hotter every day. She would go to the doctor this afternoon, she decided.Nathan walked in the hospital and found Peyton sitting on the floor in a hallway, while wiping her tears of her face. Nathan sat down next to her. "Are you ok?" he asked carefully.Peyton closed her eyes again. "No, I'm not." She shakes her head."Did Brooke already leave?" Nathan looked around searching for Brooke."Yes." Peyton sniffed, "and I'm staying here.""What? No. Peyton!" Nathan was surprised and stood up. "You can't, this is your dream.""Yes, I know", Peyton confirmed, "but.." she took a deep breath, "but what if he wakes up and I'm not here? I have to be here Nathan.""No, you don't. You know why? Because when Lucas wakes up and he'll notice that you're not here, he'll be satisfied, because he knows that you are happy. He would never want anything else for you then being happy, Peyton.""But I'm not happy, Nathan! I can't be, ok? How can I pursue my dreams if the guy that I love isn't even conscious?"Peyton leaned to the wall and stood up too. "I'm going to check on Lucas", Peyton continued. She walked away and left Nathan even guiltier then he already was.

The doctor walked over to Karen. She held Lilly in her arms but gave her to Deb when she saw the look on the doctor's face. He didn't look like he was about to bring good news."Ms. Roe, I'm sorry to tell you this," he started, "but I'm afraid your son had a stroke." Karen felt relieved, this was some sort of mistake. Lucas took medicine to keep his blood pressure low, there was no way that he had a stroke."I'm sorry, sir, but I don't think that's possible," Karen laughed nervously, "my son can't have a stroke, he takes heart medicine, doesn't he?" Karen looked at Peyton who just stopped by them and looked confused and scared at the doctor. "What?" Peyton asked, more to herself then to Karen, "No, yes, he took them, he knows what happens if he doesn't, he wouldn't risk it again." Peyton tried to comfort herself. Lucas hadn't exactly given her the guarantee he would take the medicine correctly from then on.

"You must know," the doctor interrupted, "strokes are not inevitable, they are rare with people of young age, but there always is a small chance of having one. Especially with a weak heart. Was he not playing basketball?"**June 15****th****2007**"Lucas?" Karen walked into Lucas' room. It was filled with the morning sunlight. Her son breathed slowly. The doctor said he would have trouble talking after the stroke, and possibly temporary paralyzed on some parts of his body. But Lucas seemed fine. He smiled carefully, but did not speak. Karen kissed his forehead and grabbed his hand. She tried to hold it but Lucas didn't move his fingers. With fear in his eyes he looked as his hand and at Karen's hand. His arm didn't respond, his fingers didn't move. He was paralyzed.Deb fed Lilly some warm milk while Karen stood up when the doctor arrived. He didn't look that positive."I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'm afraid that you were right. We ran some tests on your son and he failed to respond. I'm sorry, Miss Roe, but your son is paralyzed on his left arm."

**Fall 2011, Tree Hill Police Department**"That moment changed my life. Of course back then, they couldn't tell whether it was temporary or not, but I knew it was permanent… You can feel it, you know. That you're life is going to change, that you're no longer the same…you can feel it."Lucas smiled thinking how ironic things turned out. How much his hopes and dreams had changed since the unfaithful night. He looked at the man sitting across the table. Obviously he needed to tell more about that summer…**July 25****th**** 2007**"Lucas, I'm going down to the store, you want me to drop you off?" Peyton knocked against Lucas' door. For the past month, he had only talked to her when he had news about his arm. Normally, he wouldn't even let Peyton come into his room. Until today.Lucas opened the door and looked Peyton in her eyes. "Hey", he said quietly. "I'd like that", he replied with a small smile. Lucas hadn't felt that good for the past month. It was like his life was taken away from him and all he had left where dreams that where dying and people that didn't understand him. But for the past week, therapy had been going better. Though it takes time to recover, Lucas' arm had react in some session, which had given Lucas hope. Hope that the doctors took away from him when it turned out to be nothing. Life with one arm was easier then Lucas would've imagined. Though he had trouble with small things like buttons of a blouse or even take a tissue out of a box, he had managed to get by. Of course, his mother and Peyton had helped him as much as he let them, but he was too proud to let them help with everything. What's a writers' life if you can't write?

"Well, step in!" Peyton said cheery, hoping it would set a mood for Lucas. As they drove, an awkward silence had set the mood instead. "So what have you been doing lately?" Lucas asked carefully."Drawing. I've been drawing again, I forgot how good it felt to draw what you feel. I changed my room again.""You don't live in the apartment anymore?""No, my dad is away again and he didn't want the house to be empty so I kind of lived there and in the apartment, but, when I'm alone I feel more comforting in my own house. Even after the whole Ian thing.""Wauw…that's..that's good, that you are passed that…it's good""I'm not passed it Lucas, I'm scared every second I spend there." Peyton sounded offended."Well..why won't you come stay with us then?" Lucas replied."Then I have to move again. Look, I've been alone a lot in my life, and whenever I was alone, I was in my house, so now I'm there and I'm alone and scared and you know what? In a strange way it feels good that I'm alone. Face your deepest fear alone. That's what I'm doing…and you should be doing it too.""What's that supposed to mean?" Lucas asked surprised and confused."What…ok, you know what, forget it..let's just drive to the hospital.""No, I want to know, what did you mean?" Lucas started to feel angry."Ok, you know, fine, I'll tell you. What I mean is that you should confront yourself. Get over it. I know, it's horrible, and you don't deserve it, especially not you, but you have been doing nothing in the past month, nothing else then soaking in your room, saying how bad everything is. If you need time and space, I can give it to you, what I can't give you is respect for doing nothing but soaking." Peyton was mad and let all of the anger for the past month out, it felt good, though she was scared for what Lucas would say."Really? I'm soaking. Peyton my life and my dreams are ruined, I think I deserve to do nothing but soak. I mean, what's left, huh? I can't play basketball anymore, I can't even type on my laptop faster than five words per minute.""Then work at it! Work harder, learn to type faster. If you can't do something you have to prove that you can, you have to make it that way, that you can do it. That's what the old Lucas would've done." Peyton felt horrible about what she said, but she knew that someone had to say it to Lucas. Lucas took a deep breath and said: "Yeah, that's probably what he would've done, but you know what? He's dead. The old Lucas is dead. He died when my arm did." Lucas was furious. Peyton stopped the car and Lucas stepped out. He walked away without saying a word. It was the first meaningful conversation Lucas and Peyton had in a long time. It was also the biggest fight they had in a long time.

**August 8****th**** 2007**

It had been two weeks since Lucas and Peyton had talked. Though Peyton had always checked on Lucas with Karen, Lucas hadn't been able to forgive her for not supporting him when he needed her the most. In those two weeks, his arm condition had been changing. The therapy defiantly worked out, but Lucas didn't share the good news with anyone but Karen and Haley. He hadn't even spoken to Nathan in a while. Was this really it? Was this how his life was going to be like? Howard Hughes instead of Shakespeare? Lucas typed his thoughts on his laptop. Though he was mad at her, he did follow Peyton's advice, and typing with one hand wasn't as hard as he had imagined. Then, somebody knocked on his door. Lucas stood up to open it, but Peyton opened it herself.

"Hey" she said carefully, not knowing in what state he was in."Hey", Lucas answered, happier than he had been in a while.

"I'm really sorry, for the things I said, Lucas. I mean, I want you to be better, ok, I want it more than anything. But I got a new chance at life.""What?" Lucas was confused. "I mean, that, I have a second chance to do what I want." Peyton didn't know how she could bring the news."Peyton, what are you talking about?" Lucas touched her shoulder and hugged her. It felt like heaven again, it was exactly what he needed, what he had been waiting for. "You can tell me anything." Lucas said.

"I won a contest of MTV and I can be a VJ, if I say yes. But then I have to go to New York." Peyton spilled the news out as fast as she could, not wanting to hear Lucas reaction. She felt bad for telling this, but in a way, she had too."Peyton, that's great!" Lucas smiled. He kissed her and hugged her again. "Wauw, Peyton, you gotta take this chance!""Really? Oh God, I have been so worried, I thought you didn't want me to go again, and..""Shh, it's alright, I want you to go!" Lucas smiled, but in a way, he felt more alone then he had felt all those weeks.

**Fall 2011, Tree Hill Police Department**

"Life is not a fairy tale, I found that out a long time ago and unfortunately, so did my friends. Nathan and Haley would soon face their greatest fear, Brooke's dreams were starting to fall apart, Rachel started a new life and was leaving the past in the past, Skills would finally get what he deserves, my mom found out that life without someone to lean on wasn't as easy as it was eighteen years ago and Peyton…I guess Peyton found herself more then she lost me. Those three months defined the rest of my life. They changed it forever. I can't say I don't regret the things I've done, the things that drove the people I loved away from me, but if I told you that everything that would happen next , wouldn't have happened if I hadn't act the way I acted, if I hadn't done the things I did, would you still think I am an innocent writer?" Lucas stood up. "As far as the story goes, I think I have told my part. I guess if you wanted to know more, you would stop me?" Lucas stood up and walked away. Detective Kingston had been listening carefully to Lucas' story. He hadn't found the clue he had been looking for, but he would find it soon enough. He was about to go somewhere when his partner Danny walked in."And? Did you got something out of him?" Danny asked while he stuffed a donut in his mouth.

"No", Kingston said, "but I guarantee, I'll find more with the person I'll be having my next conversation with. Kingston smiled and walked away. A few minutes later, he stopped his car in front of a villa. He walked towards the front door, while trying to look inside. When he rang the doorbell a woman opened the door.

"Mrs. McFadden", Kingston began."You must be the cop who investigates the murder", Mrs. McFadden answered. I know who you are.Kingston smiled, stepped into the hall and continued. "I know this must be a hard time for you, Mrs. McFadden, but I'd like to ask you some questions.

Mrs. McFadden walked into her kitchen and made some coffee. "You want some?" she asked.

"No thank you", Kingston replied. "So, you want to know what I know", Mrs. McFadden continued. "Yes. Why don't you tell me more about 2007." Kingston sad down in a chair.

"2007, let's see. The whole world was obsessed with the iPhone, uhm, everybody read the last Harry Potter book and I believe Shrek three was in the cinemas, I like part five better.""Mrs. McFadden…" Kingston said a bit annoyed.

"Oh please…call me Peyton."


	2. My Baby's Lost

**Sketches Of A Twenty-Something Life**

1.02 My Baby's Lost

**Fall ****2011, McFadden Residence**"Peyton, let me be more specific." Kingston Why is it, that the wife of a famous politician who is about to be elected for the senate, transfers thousands of dollars to a bank account that is registered to a certain…"

"That is my business," Peyton cut him off because she couldn't stand hearing the name again. It hurt too much and the pain was too fresh.

"I'm sure it is. But let me tell you what I think, before you tell me exactly what happened in 2007. You hired someone, to finish a job. It's obvious that this person needs money and I believe you needed to disappear.""What are you talking about?" Peyton was seriously offended."Where is your husband, Peyton?""He is away," she replied, still offended by the random accusations by the detective.

"A politician isn't away, the press always finds somebody, yet, nobody has heard from him in days.""He is taking time off, the schedule of a politician can be devastating.""That it can." Kingston stood up from his chair, obviously, he wouldn't find what he wanted to hear. "Let me ask you one more question.""Shoot, one more can't hurt." Peyton regained her confidence."Why does a girl, who seems to have everything, leaves it all behind, for a baby?""I was wrong." Peyton replied with a certain confidence in her eyes."Wrong about what?" Kingston asked confused"About you. Apparently, one more question could hurt." Peyton smiled, stood up and led Kingston the way out.Kingston was disappointed by Peyton's mysterious reaction. The case was getting more vague. Fortunately, he had a clue. He had to find Marvin McFadden…**September 25****th****2007, MTV Studio's, New York City**"Goodnight and welcome to a all new edition of "Pimp my face" in which a group of uncertain teenagers take the risk of their lives to become beautiful people."An hour and a half later, the recordings where finished. "Could we get any more shallow?" Peyton threw the microphone to the director and walked away. She heard him saying "Just smile, pretty face!" One of the producers, who actually was the only person Peyton could be honest with in this world, walked along with her to her dressingroom.

"This is not what I signed up for," Peyton started to feel moody again, which was ok, because she wasn't on for another hour or so."Look, you might not be doing what you used to dream of, but it's a start right?" Karen, the producer, tried to made her enthousiastic about her work, but failed.

"No, it's not. I want to lead kids to their favorite bands and songs, I want to be their guide to the beautiful world of lyrics with meaning and instruments that touch your soul. Instead I'm telling kids that they are ugly and need plastic surgery to be accepted so they can fit with the regular people, instead of being different and one of a kind.""Peyton, I can't tell you to stay, but if you flunk out now you'll end up where every other young reporter is….nowhere!"Peyton realized Karen was right. There was only one way to being a VJ and this was it. She wouldn't get this chance again. Suddenly her phone rang.

**September 25****th**** 2007, Tree Hill**"Ok, you have our mobiles, the number of the restaurant and don't hesitate to call, especially not if there is something wrong." Nathan smiled at the babysitter, who came by for the first time since she was interviewed."I'll be fine," she said, "you guys should enjoy your first night away, I've done this a million times, it's always hard to leave your child for the first time but James and I are going to have a great time, I promise!" she sounded experienced, which was the reason why Haley trusted her with James."Ok, but if something serious comes up, first call 911, then call us….or call us first and then 911, either way, do it in less than a minute!" Haley couldn't say it enough. She wanted James to be safe, especially with the fever that had been running for months, even though the doctors said it would pass anytime soon.Nathan closed the door behind them and, though very confident that James was going to be fine, because he had been with Lucas or Karen or other family members and friends enough, they couldn't help but doubt with a new babysitter it was different, they thought.They had just finished their desert and Nathan asked for the bill when the phone rang. Haley awnsered in a heartbeat when she recognized her home number."What's wrong?" she asked uncertain with a pounding heart in her throat. "You need to come home, now!!" Lucy was crying and immediately hung up the phone. Haley was scared and immediately ran to the bar to get Nathan.They had walked to the restaurant but calling a cab when every Tree Hill citizen had decided to go out, was impossible. They ran as fast as they could, but Nathan was long ahead of Haley. Haley pushed herself though her stomach was rumbling and she felt like she was eating spaghetti all over again. Nathan didn't unlock the door but stormed in while it was still closed. The door fell on the floor, letting all the light of the hallway shine through the dark room. By the window, Lucy sat on her knees, sobbing next to the crib. Nathan ran towards her but when he saw James, his heart stopped beating. James, little as he was, had turned white and was frozen in a certain pose. Nathan picked him up, but couldn't feel a heartbeat. With tears in his eyes he laid him down in his crib again. He took a few steps back, but the rage in his body was too big. He pulled Lucy up and hit her as hard as he could.

"You killed him! You killed my son!" Nathan cried and ignored Lucy's screams. He kept hitting, until his rage had settled. Heartbroken and hurt from being so powerless he fell on his knees. Haley had finally caught up and walked into the room. She was shocked by what she saw. The door on the floor, Nathan crying on the floor, his knuckles whet with blood.She ran to the crib and had the feeling someone had ripped her heart out. Her son was pale and breathless. She screamed as hard as she could, but stopped when she realized she was standing in the blood of Lucy. Shocked and torn apart from what she saw, all she could say was "Nathan.." She too fell on her knees, it was too much. She closed her eyes and fell on the floor.**September 25****th**** 2007, MTV Studio's, New York City**

"What?" Peyton replied shocked. "How could this happen? How could she? No, I'll come now. No question, I'll just have to go by plane. I'll be there tonight. Don't worry, this will all be ok, I promise."Peyton was shocked by what happened to the child. She told Karen she was done and left. This was more important than her ridiculous job. She would fix this, no matter how bad the dad screwed up.**Fall 2011****, Tree Hill Police Department**"We found something." Danny gave a set of papers to Kingston."What is it?" Kingston asked, but without any interest.

"There has been activity on McFadden's credit card," Danny added, getting more excited by the idea that he actually may have helped Kingston successfully.

"Where?" Kingston asked, but now with a growing amount of interest.

"He's here, he's back.""Great, call him in.."

**September 26****th**** 2007, Tree Hill**"I'm so sorry for what happened." Lucas tried to comfort Nathan. He was obviously wasted, but nobody really blamed him. Deb was sitting in the room with a cup of thee in her hand and red eyes. Lucas opened the bed room and was surprised to find Brooke sitting next to a bunch of pillows and a bed sheet that was covering a crying Haley. Brooke walked up to him and took him to the kitchen."It's bad, Lucas. They won't say what happened and all Deb could find out was that James died because of a high fever.""A high fever, are you kidding me?" Lucas couldn't believe this was happening. Just when things were going well with his heart, he lost his nephew to a simple thing like a fever. He got mad at the world for being so unreasonable but Brooke kept him calm."You can't lose it Luke, they need you to be strong. How can I be strong? I'm taking heart medicine that make me sleep for at least 12 hours a day, I can't help Whitey coaching because it would be too risky. And now you're telling me my nephew is dead because of this ridiculous thing?" Lucas felt like screaming."I know," tears filled Brooke's eyes, but she kept quiet. She hugged Lucas, hold his hand and kissed him on his cheek. "Remember, we have to be strong. They need us Luke, Nathan and Haley need us."

**Fall 2011, McFadden Residence**

"They found him." Peyton was furious, there was no way that things wouldn't blow up her in her face."Where is he now?" Lucas asked."He is with them. Probably telling them everything he knows." Peyton couldn't sit still, she marched through the room as if her life depended on it, and to be honest; it kind of did. "Look, you shouldn't underestimate Marvin. He's smart, he knows what to say.""Are you kidding me? It's over, the secret is out. He's going to tell them everything! You, me, we are finished. He's going to sell us out so the Jiminy Cricket on his arm shuts the hell up.""Peyton…" Lucas tried to have a reasonable conversation about what to do next, but in a certain way, she was right. Marvin would tell them everything what happened that night. "We'll see how it goes, I have faith in him. He cares enough about us to keep his mouth shut.""Really?" Peyton was surprised what Lucas said. "Really, you think he has forgiven me for what I've done? Because I don't think so… You know what? We need to talk to him.""To who, to Marvin? It's a bit too late for that." Lucas was confused by what Peyton said."No, we need to talk to Whitey, and everybody else who was there that night. We need to have a solid plan, just one plan that matches everything so we won't get caught.""And why do you think they will help us? A lot has happened Peyton..""I know, but remember. We aren't the only ones who have something to lose."

**September 26****th**** 2007, Tree Hill**

"Haley?" Nathan's throat was sore and his head was pounding. He felt like sleeping and waking up in the world that was two days ago. But his son was no longer there and his wife hadn't spoke to him ever since."What did you do with the body?" Nathan was surprised that Haley threw the pillows of her and asked him this question while her eyes where read, her make-up was all over her face and her heart was obviously broken."I need to know what you did," she added."I can't…I can't tell you." Nathan closed his eyes, hoping his problems would disappear. But when he opened his eyes they were still there.

"You killed her didn't you? You killed our babysitter because you blame her."

Nathan couldn't deal with Haley looking at him like that."Haley…" he tried to find the right words, but they didn't exist."It's ok. I blame her too." Haley stood up from the bed and walked up to Nathan."I understand why you where furious, but…I can't have you here anymore.""What?" Nathan thought his world had fall apart, but hearing Haley say those words, he knew that it hadn't…yet."You don't mean that," Nathan said.

"I do," Haley cried but knew that she had to do this. "I need you to leave.""Haley!" Nathan felt tears coming up but he refused to give in.

"You killed someone. I can't have you around me, I don't want you….I don't…you can't, Nathan…you can't."Haley turned around when the tears kept coming. She let her fall in her bed and waited until Nathan had left. Quietly she started to sob, remembering her son and her husband the way she loved them the most.Nathan walked on a empty street. He didn't fight his tears anymore. His life had come crushing down on him and there was nothing he could do about it."Nathan!" Brooke ran up to him. "What are you doing here?" She was shocked when she saw the tears on his face and coat.

"Taking my mind of things," was his short answer.

"Why don't we go inside?" She asked.

"I can't," Nathan said with a feeling that this conversation would be too much confronting.

"Nathan, please, what is wrong?""Could I get a hug?" Nathan had never felt so weak before, but he needed some comfort, he felt more alone then ever and he couldn't deal with it.

Brooke hugged him, but when she kissed him on his cheek, she tasted the salt of his tears. She remembered Chase and how they broke up. She was heartbroken and hurt. Her mind was somewhere else when she felt Nathan's lips on hers. They looked at each other; both heartbroken and both looking for companionship. Their lips met again and it felt like old times. For anyone who had seen them they were too people who where kissing each other on a cold fall night. But too Haley, they where the people that killed her soul.


	3. Neither One Of Us Wants To Be The First

Sketches of a Twenty-Something Life: 1.03 Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)

Fall 2011  
"Bless me, father, for I have sinned."  
"How long has it been since your last confession, my son?"  
"Almost two years. I haven't been as devoted to my religion as before."  
"Do you want to tell me why, my son?"  
"Yes, father. It..I was never really…I didn't believe in God. I found myself in basketball, and four years ago, I got a second chance at that."  
"At basketball?"  
"Yes, father, I'm sorry, I was never really good at this."  
"Don't worry, my boy, God is patient. But, can you tell me why you went to confession after all this time?"  
"Actually, it's a long story. I lost one of my dear friends, not too long ago and I am afraid it's my fault."  
"Are you telling me you were involved in the death of one of your friends?"  
"Maybe, father, I'm not sure. I guess if you really look at it I have to go back in time."  
"Well, why don't you tell me, son, tell me everything."  
"Well, four years ago I had a son, a loving wife and a chance to play basketball in college, even after I betrayed the game. This second chance meant the world to me. But after a couple of months in college, I lost one of the things I cared about the most…my son."

February 3rd, 2008  
Nathan and Brooke  
"We cannot do this anymore, Brooke." Nathan grabbed her hands and pulled them of his shoulder. He didn't want to stop, but he knew he had to. It would break Haley's heart. For a couple of months, they had done nothing else but sneak around. The situation at home had been unbearable. Haley barely talked to him, she stopped going to her classes and the only conversations she had were with Lucas or James' grave. Every night Nathan had to listen to her sob before she finally fell asleep. Life without his son had been hard to say the least. There was no one to cradle when the day starts, there was no one that couldn't live without you taking care of him. For the short time James had been in his life, Nathan had felt more meaningful then ever before. It gave him an entire new purpose. A purpose that was taken away by the mistakes of a young girl, that died.  
Lucy's death had been the biggest secret in Nathan's live so far. The police found a body in a alley and all Nathan and Haley had to say was that she left and James died soon after. Leaving no time for them to kill her, or even be a suspect. Haley hadn't forgiven Nathan for killing a human being. Perhaps that was what drove them apart. Nathan had focused on religion and besides Brooke's apartment, the church had been a second home to him. It was where he could find forgiveness for his sin and hope in the dark times that were overshadowing his life. The other way out had been Brooke. They met almost every night, after Haley went to sleep and Nathan needed to clear his mind. Usually it was just sex, but after months Brooke wanted to be acknowledged, so here they where, in a small restaurant far away from Tree Hill were the chances that anybody would recognize them were slim.  
"You say that every time. Nathan, it's us. It means something right?" Brooke leaned back not minding the candle on the table that almost lit her hair on fire.  
"No, I mean it this time. We cannot do this to Haley."  
"Don't play the Haley card with me, I hate being this girl. You know how much she means to me. But so do you, Nathan."  
"Don't…"  
"Why not? You've been wanting this just as much as I have, you would lie if you said you didn't."  
"I know, I have, but I shouldn't have, we can't. I'm sorry, I have to go." Nathan grabbed his coat, fished his wallet out of his left pocket, threw the cash on the table and left an broken Brooke.

Lucas and Haley  
"I brought soup. Chicken noodle.."  
"With extra noodles?"  
"Of course."  
"Thank you, Luke." Lucas set the cup next to Haley's bed. She sat up straight and sipped her soup even though it was still hot.  
"You have to get up, how long has it been since you left this apartment?" Lucas took the cup out of her hands, saving Haley's lips from getting burned.  
"Lucas please. I don't want to go outside. What's left in the world for me? Truly?"  
"Don't think like that. You still have friends who love you, people that miss you…"  
"If they really missed me they would've shown don't you think? Nobody has even come to pay their respects. They don't even care. They only care about their own little busy lives."  
"Come on, Haley, you know that isn't true. Skills and Mouth have come by."  
"Yeah, Luke, you're right. They did came six weeks ago."  
"Haley.."  
"No, I can't. I'm done. I don't want to do this, Luke. I don't want to go into a world where James isn't alive, I don't want to live in such a world." Tears streamed from her eyes and Lucas hugged her, trying to comfort her with the knowledge that nothing really could.

Peyton  
"Hey you. Want an apple?"  
"I'm sorry, did we win the lottery so we could buy a laptop?"  
"No, silly, do you want an actual apple?" Peyton smiled as she offered him the fruit.  
"No, thanks. You know, we could go to dinner tonight.."  
"Really? What about not having money?"  
"Well, it's not a fancy restaurant, but I just received my payroll and I think we deserve some good stuff." He smiled as he waved a small piece of paper.  
"We can't, we have to save as much as we can for the lawsuit. We have to be careful with spending money. If we ate a great meal I'd feel sorry because we can use a better lawyer then the jackass we have now." Peyton grabbed the paper and put it on the table. "I didn't stay here so you could lose this lawsuit, I came so you could win it."  
"Yes, and I'm very thankful for that. I couldn't have survived these past months without you." Peyton smiled nervously.  
"No, I mean it," he continued "you mean a lot to me."  
"Stop it!" Peyton said. "We are going to make this right, Jake. We are not going to let Nikki win full custody of Jenny."

Brooke and Rachel  
"Hey slut, what have you been up to?" Rachel smiled as Brooke said next to her at the bar.  
"Nothing, you whore." Brooke answered, pretending to be in a good mood while all she could think about was Nathan.  
"Good, because I have something you need to check out." Rachel fished an magazine out of her purse, that was surprisingly small for something that could keep a magazine.  
"I'm on the cover of TV Guide!" She pointed at a small picture on the left side over the cover where Rachel was standing half naked between a group of other girls, while the letters "America's next teen model" decorated their bodies.  
"I don't get it," Brooke answered mildly interested while drinking another glass of martini.  
"I won a spot on the new television program for the CW! I'm gonna be on TV!" Rachel raised her voice in the hope people would hear it and show interest in her, which worked for the guy sitting next to her, but when he tried to speak he passed out next to a dozen empty beer glasses.  
"Anyway…" Rachel continued a little uncomfortable, "isn't it cool?"  
"It's great Rach. I couldn't be more happy for you." Brooke didn't even try to be enthusiastic because all she wanted was Rachel to see what a mess she was. It worked.  
"Brooke, what's wrong, you kinda look like a mess." Rachel looked at her as if she saw her for the first time. "How is Victoria's Secret going?"  
"It was great, until they decided they didn't want me anymore. I wasn't original enough. Can you believe that? I mean, I have a lot on my mind right now, and maybe I haven't been focusing enough.."  
"Brooke, are you crazy? This is a chance of a lifetime, I sacrificed my graduation for this, remember." "Yes, I remember and I'm thankful for that, even though you still graduated and you only use it to get on TV, although, come to think of it, you don't really need your brains for that, just that fake body of yours."  
"I know! Isn't it the best job ever!" Rachel took another shot with getting attention and searched the room with her eyes.  
"Oops, hottie standing in the corner! Gotta go, see you when I see you." She waved and went off hitting on a guy standing in the corner. Brooke felt horrible and stayed at the bar, taking as many martini as she could handle…and more.

Nathan and Haley  
Nathan threw away the empty bottle before he opened the door. Ever since he left Brooke at the restaurant, he had been drinking because he wasn't going to confess his sins sober, because this time, it wouldn't be in church, it would be to Haley.  
Lucas had already left and Haley was walking through the living room with a cup of tea when Nathan opened the door. She looked at him with an meaningless face as she continued her travel from the kitchen to the bedroom.  
"Haley, I need to talk to you." Nathan mumbled as he tried to stand straight.  
"Not when you're like this, you don't." Haley closed the door meaning to keep Nathan out for the night, but he wasn't going to let it go. He needed to tell Haley what he had done for the past months, otherwise he would never be able to forgive himself. He opened the door and started his confession. "Haley, I need to tell you something." Nathan said. Haley, who wasn't up for the confessions of an drunken fool, pretended she didn't hear it and laid down in bed with her cup in her hand.  
"Please, Nathan, don't. Not tonight."  
"I slept with Brooke." Nathan said it before he knew it and the words killed the warmth in the room. Nathan didn't knew what to say, even though he had been repeating the conversation in his head for the entire night.  
"I know, Nathan," Haley answered quietly, "now please go to sleep. I don't want to stay up too late." She put the empty cup on the nightstand and pulled the sheets up to her head.  
"What?" Suddenly Nathan was sober as he heard the two words he wasn't expecting to hear.  
"You know? All this time you have known? How…why?" Nathan got scared. What exactly did Haley know? Why hasn't she told him? Was she mad? Was she going to leave him?  
Haley threw the sheets back, annoyed by the fact her husband didn't follow her advise to shut up and sleep.  
"Yes, I know," she said as she put on a nightgown, "I have known ever since you kissed her in front of the apartment you cheating bastard!" Suddenly she couldn't stay calm, Nathan had hurt her bad, but James' death had locked her feelings up inside and they hadn't come out…yet.  
"Yes, Nathan, I know everything. I know that you go away at night, to her, pretending that she's me so you can fill the hole in your pathetic, empty life. I know, that you stopped caring about me a long time ago and that you hate me so much you would even sleep with my friend, just to make me recognize you. I know, ok? I know it! But I don't want you to feel sorry for me, because you know what? I made a promise. 'Always and forever' right? I promised that to you and I will not be the one to break that promise. So you go ahead, Nathan, you go to your precious Brooke and you sleep with her all you want because I don't care anymore, I don't care about anything anymore." Haley couldn't stop crying and as she tried to catch her breath she felt an great deal of pain. Her stomach hurt, but it wasn't physical as much as it was her soul that came crashing down. For the first time since her son had died, she admitted that her life had fallen apart. That not only she had lost her son, but she had lost the one person in her life that kept her steady. It hurts, but instead of crying because of her pain she cried out of anger. Anger that all of this, had to happen to her. She screamed as she grabbed the teacup and through it in Nathan's direction. He also had tears in his eyes for the same reasons, only he knew that he was a scumbag, not deserving a wife like Haley. He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. He killed somebody because he was angry, he had lost his baby, his wife, his life. All he wanted was to get away, so he couldn't make Haley's life any worse then it already was.

Brooke  
"My milkshake brings all the boyz…" Brooke was tired from singing the song over and over again and let the glass in her hand slip. It broke into a thousand pieces, but the crowd didn't mind. She found herself standing on the bar while a bunch of people where waving with dollar bills and shouting degrading things to her. She wanted to get off but instead she slipped too and fell on the floor. The room was spinning and she couldn't even feel the pain. People were laughing and screaming. Brooke felt dizzy and all she wanted to do was sleep. Suddenly, someone grabbed her arms and picked her up from the ground. Brooke recognized the smell of this person but couldn't quit place it. She saw how the bar disappeared from her sight and how the streetlights shone in her face.  
"Are you alright?" The voice asked. Brooke felt a glass pressing against her lips, she drank. It tasted like water and a few minutes later the cold air had sober her up a bit. For the first time she looked at the person who saved her from the group of horny college guys that wanted to get in her pants.  
"Chase?"  
"Hey, Brooke. How are you doing?"

Lucas, Mouth and Skills  
"I'm doing fine. Honestly I know no one believes me after what the doctor said last year, but I'm doing much better. I didn't die, obviously and I didn't have another heart attack either."  
"Yo, I know you're playin' all tough guy and everything, but I know you ain't fine. After what you've been through, it would be crazy if you still felt fine."  
"Yeah, anybody would have a hard time dealing with the things you have dealt with, especially with your body."  
"Thanks for being so concerned, Skills, Mouth. But I'm doing fine, besides, talking about me isn't the reason why I called you tonight." Lucas ordered a couple of drinks before he continued. The truth was that he hadn't been doing fine. Life with just one arm didn't leave much room for happiness. It had been a couple of months and Lucas learned to deal with it. But it still hurts. Everytime he did something and needed a second hand, it hurts. Lucas could barely believe that that was his life now, but it was. And with Peyton hardly being in the picture, his friends where all Lucas had.  
"It's Haley. Look, I know you have been busy with college, Skills, and I know you have been working hard to get an internship at the governor's staff, Mouth, but I'm worried sick about Haley.  
"Well, what's up?" Skills asked as his eyes where focused on the girls sitting on the other side of the bar.  
"Skills! She lost her child! What hasn't been down for her lately? She needs her friends, especially when the half of our group is off doing God knows what."  
"I take it you still haven't heard from Peyton?" Mouth asked suddenly.  
"No, I haven't, and she hasn't been returning my phone calls either. It's like she doesn't even want to works things out anymore." Lucas couldn't help drifting from the topic, but with Haley being completely messed up, he hadn't had much time to focus on himself, or on his relationship for that matter. He had been visiting the hospital on a weekly basis and any exercise heavier then lifting a plate full of cookies in the cafeé is strictly off limits, but still he had managed to stay happy. Or at least alive.  
"So, we all will just visiting her more often." Skills seemed barely interested and it annoyed Lucas to death.  
"What the hell, Skills? Why do you make it sound like it's a sentence instead of being a favor. She needs us right now, all of us."  
Skills turned his attention to the table.  
"I'm sorry, doug, I know I haven't been there for Haley like I promised. I'm just not good with dealing all this heavy stuff. She lost her baby, man, her little boy that we where supposed to take care off. He's gone and I feel crap because of it, I can't even begin to imagine what she's going through." Skills didn't like the open conversation, but Lucas had to know that Haley's troubles were affecting him.  
"But he's right, Skills, this isn't just our lost, it's hers, more then anyone. She and Nathan had to go through the worst thing anybody can ever go through and we weren't there. What kind of friends does that make us?" Mouth felt a big pile of guilt falling on his head. He had been focusing on getting the internship so much that he didn't even make time for his friends. Besides Brooke, Lucas and Skills, he hadn't even seen the others in weeks. It wasn't the kind of person he would like to be.  
"Ok, so from now on we promise we will take care of them, both of them?" Lucas asked reassuring.  
"Yeah man." Skills answered immediately.  
"For sure." Mouth confirmed.

Fall 2011  
"What happened to you and your wife after she discovered your affair?"  
"Well, father, Haley never left me. She promised to stay married with me even though she didn't feel the same way about me anymore. And I couldn't do that. I loved her, with all my heart, and I had hurt her so much she couldn't even recognize me anymore. So I went away. I figured her life would be so much better if I left her, because regardless how she felt about me, she would never leave me. I went away, I dropped out of college and moved to Los Angeles. It wasn't the smartest thing to do, because the only reason I went there was so Brooke could find me. I don't know why. A part of me wanted to have somebody I could be with, the other part just wanted to get away from everybody so I couldn't hurt them. I guess it didn't go the way I planned…nothing really did."  
"So you gave up basketball, you gave up your wife, your career…that wasn't very wise, Nathan."  
"Wait…how do you know my name?"  
"It's me, my son, it's your father."  
"Dan?"  
Nathan fled from the confession chair and opened the other door. In front of him was sitting his father, dressed like a priest, with a cross on a necklace.  
"I'm sorry son, I'm sorry I never told you."  
"You got out? How did you get out?"  
"I too got a second chance, Nathan. I either could spend my life rethinking my mistakes, or I could try to fix the mistakes of others."  
"So you became a priest? To finish your sentence in church?" Nathan couldn't believe what he saw.  
"I know you could never forgive me, but please, let me help you. You are in need of help right?"  
"Yeah dad, help from God…not from you." Nathan shook his head and turned around. Without looking back he walked out of the church.

February 4th, 2008  
Brooke  
It had been a month since Brooke and Chase met each other. Chase was becoming a pilot, like he had always dreamed. Often, he took Brooke to a small airport where some of the older students got flight training. They would watch the small airplanes land and support the older students while they would take their practical exams.  
"You know, you really helped me." Brooke finally confessed while they where driving back to Tree Hill.  
"Helped you how?" Chase asked.  
"My designs from Clothes over Bro's were accepted, but when I couldn't get new material, Victoria's Secret didn't want me on the team anymore. And I guess in a lot of ways I lost my way. I did things I am not proud of and I had changed so much over High School only to find myself being the exact same person I used to be when High School was over, and only the thought of that made me want to get drunk and do stupid things. Until I saw you again." Brooke smiled thinking of how Chase changed her life all over again and how he always seemed to be an beacon of renewed hope in her life.  
"You know, when you broke up with me over the web cam, I was scared you had lost yourself again. I mean, even though you have some great friends, I didn't trust the world enough to let you go alone." Chase didn't look at Brooke while he said this but stayed focused on the road. It started to rain.  
"I didn't want to break up. I just, I don't know why I did it." Brooke admitted.  
"I do. You wanted to move on. Suddenly you where scared again, and you didn't have the heart to pull through. You know I would've waited for you to come back. I promised that, remember?"  
"I know, Chase, but…L.A. is a completely different world. I started to think we were naïve to think it would go so easily."  
"Nothing goes easily, Brooke, you of all people should know that relationships take hard work."  
"I know, Chase, I know…but…" Brooke couldn't find the words to describe her remorse about breaking up with Chase over the summer after promising to make it work.  
"So when we weren't together, and you didn't went to college like you promised, which is ridiculous I must add."  
"I know Chase, please, can we stop this."  
"With who were you, Brooke? Last month, when I found you in that bar, you weren't drinking because you lost Victoria's Secret. You were drinking because you got dumped. And I thought it wouldn't matter, that when we would get back together, everything would be like before, but every time you look in my eyes it's like you want to see someone else."  
"Chase…"  
"No, Brooke, tell me who it is. Who do you really want to be with? Is it Lucas?" Chase started to look at Brooke and she couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth about Nathan. It would hurt too much.  
"Chase, I…" This time it was Brooke who watched the road and Chase the one who watched her.  
"Chase watch out!" Brooke screamed, pushing her hands to the dashboard trying to stop the car. The deer hit the window, flying over the car leaving blood all over the window. Chase lost control and the car drove of the road into the woods, the car slipped. It turned on it's side and rolled over. It rolled from the hill and stopped when it hit a tree with it's roof.  
Minutes later Brooke tried to breathe. Rain was finding it's way in the car and her face and hair where soaking wet. She tried to get out but there where branches everywhere and one of them had blocked the door. She pushed the leaves next to her aside and saw Chase. He leaned with his head on the wheel and blood dripped from one of the many wounds on his head.  
Brooke screamed when she looked at him, she screamed as hard as she could. She screamed for help, but nobody heard her.

Fall 2011, Durham Residence  
Peyton and Lucas walked up the porch of the house. Lucas was reminded of the years he played High School basketball and this home was haven for when he was lost. Especially after Keith died, Whitey had given him the advice he often needed. When he went off to coach College basketball with him, Whitey became more and more an friend. But when heart got weaker throughout the years, Lucas had to give up basketball, even if it was for coaching. Lucas tried not to look back at those dark days. Those were behind him, at least, that's what he wanted to believe. Whitey had always been an honest man, now Peyton and he were about to ask him if he wanted to lie for them, Lucas felt like he was betraying everything Whitey, and Keith for that matter, ever learned him.  
Peyton knocked on the wooden door but no one answered. Lucas looked into the window and was amazed by what he saw. The house, in it's old state, was empty.  
"So were did he go?" Peyton asked after she looked for herself.  
"Who knows. Maybe this is for the better." Lucas looked at the neighborhood. It was peaceful and Lucas hoped that Whitey had found peace somewhere in this hard world.  
"Are you for real? Lucas, Whitey isn't exactly the kind of man that leaves without giving justice to those who deserve it. And if he left recently, who knows…maybe he already told the cops everything!"  
"Peyton, relax. Look at this place. He has been gone for a while now. Maybe he left after that night." Lucas tried to break in the door, but not with all his power. Somewhere deep inside he didn't want to figure out where Whitey had gone.  
"Maybe we don't need him." Lucas looked at a frustrated Peyton.  
"Maybe we do," she said annoyed, "maybe we need everyone who was there that night. Luke, he was there too. Who knows what he might have seen? If he knows what I think he knows, then we can never look straight ahead without having the feeling that the cops are walking behind us ready to cuff us because of what happened then." She walked off the porch, towards the car. She turned around and said: "We need to fix this, Lucas, for both our sakes, we need to fix this."

March 1st, 2008  
The phone rang. Lucas put down the cup of coffee and shove the laptop from his lap to get to the phone. But when he almost reached it, it had already stopped. Suddenly his door opened and Karen walked in with Lilly in one hand and the phone in her other hand.  
"It's Peyton. Do you want to get it?" She asked uncomfortable.  
"Yeah, sure, it's fine." Lucas reached for the phone, took a deep breath and put the phone against his ear.  
"Hey," he said quietly.  
"Hey you," Peyton said nervously. "I tried to call you a couple of times…actually a lot," she continued, "I just never put myself to actually pressing 'dial'." She laughed, still nervously.  
"You should've, we could've talked," Lucas replied.  
"I know, we should've. I'm sorry…" but Lucas interrupted.  
"You're sorry? You just left, Peyton. I mean, I know we've been through bad times and I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, but you vanished from thin air. One moment you were working your way up the MTV-ladder and the other one your…where exactly?"  
"Savannah," she answered full of quilt.  
"With Jake?" Lucas asked with pain in his heart.  
"He needed me, Lucas, he needed help. Things took a turn with Nikki and he called me. I couldn't turn my back on him, I…"  
"You could've told me," Lucas said, "you could've told me and I would've come too. God knows I could use the distraction."  
"And what about Haley and Nate? They needed someone too. If I…"  
"Don't!" Lucas interrupted with a angry tone, "don't hide behind the nightmare Nathan and Haley have to go through. You didn't even know it had happened when you stepped on that plane, Peyton! The truth is that you didn't want me to come. You didn't want me to be there with you, because it's Jake. And we both know how much he means to you."  
"That's not fair, Lucas. I loved you, I chose for you, remember?" Peyton said it before she even realized what she had said. She wanted Lucas to know it wasn't her intention to leave him alone in the time he needed her the most. But it was too late.  
"Loved?" Lucas asked, "you mean it's in the past?"  
"Lucas.." Peyton couldn't find the right words. She didn't want to loose him, but more then ever, it felt like she had grown apart from him.  
"I know, Peyton… I know." Lucas put down the phone, and in the seconds that his heart broke in a thousand pieces, he realized that he was done. His life needed to change…fast.

Fall 2011, Tree Hill Police Department  
"So you're conversations with McFadden didn't reveal too much?" Danny dipped his donut in his coffee when he sat down on Kingston's desk.  
"No, the man had a good lawyer. There wasn't really much I could do."  
"So you got nothing out of him?" Danny asked disappointed.  
"I interviewed three people about his murder, and I know, that all three of them are involved. If only I could find someone who told me enough to arrest one of those three."  
"Well, do you have any clue who it could be?"  
"Actually, that person is already on it's way."  
"How…"  
"Simple, Danny, this person used to be a roommate of the victim. They supposed to be best friends."  
He pulled a file from under Danny's bottoms and flipped through it.  
"Look," he pointed at the picture of a young woman, "she's a fashion designer."  
"And you think a fashion designer knows something about the murder on a young woman in a dark alley?"  
"It's not just a guess. Besides being friends, they worked together. And if my sources are right, they did a lot of things for each other. See, even fashion people have dark secrets." He winked and laughed when a woman walked in. The woman was dressed in black. She took her sunglasses and put them in her purse.  
"So you supposed to be the detectives that are going to solve the murder of my friend…"

March 1st, 2008  
"Rachel?" Brooke doubted the words on the letter she was holding. She looked at Rachel who smiled when she saw Brooke's confusion. "You didn't…did you?" Brooke looked from the letter to Rachel. A small rush of happiness filled her body, but she couldn't bring herself to smile. "You pretended to be me?" She asked, just to be sure.  
"Yep." Rachel said vividly. "I worked many nights to make some of Peyton's artwork into a entire different style for Clothes Over Bro's. She was happy to help you know."  
"Really? You worked for Clothes Over Bro's? You did that for me?"  
"Brooke, you need this. You need Victoria's Secret. They can't refuse you a second time, not now you have all this free time to improve yourself."  
"I'm not.." Brooke felt guilty. Rachel had worked so hard to get her back into Victoria's Secret again only to find out, Brooke had already given up.  
"What? What do you mean?" Rachel was shocked.  
"I don't think I can go on with this, not after the accident, it's too hard."  
"Brooke…"  
"I killed him, Rachel. I killed Chase. If it wasn't for me, he would still be alive." Brooke tried to fight the tears but it killed her inside.  
"No, that is not true!" Rachel put her hands on Brooke's cheeks and forced her to look into her eyes. "What happened to Chase was horrible, but it wasn't your fault. The accident wasn't your fault! You should know that."  
"I can't. I can't go on with my life, Rachel. I appreciate what you did for me, but I can't. Not yet. It's too soon."  
"Brooke, Victoria's Secret isn't until the summer. You will have an entire new season to try."  
"I shouldn't. If I do this. If I move on, if I forget about Chase…I can't. He's dead, Rachel. He's dead and he's never coming back. How do you think I can get passed that? I can't!" Tears streamed from her face. Brooke sat down and covered her face with her hands. She wanted it all to go away. The guilt, the pain, the lost of Chase. "It shouldn't be this hard, Rachel. Life shouldn't be this hard."

Fall 2011, Tree Hill Police Department  
"Please, sit down, miss." Kingston pointed at the chair on the other side of the desk while Danny jumped off and spilled coffee on the floor.  
"So why now? Why do you want to talk to me, now?" The woman asked.  
"We interviewed some of your friends first, miss. We were hoping to find clues."  
"I see, well, you mustn't be very good at it, because my private detective already found more then you did. Can you imagine? Me solving the case before you do?"  
"Miss, this case has my full attention. And we have made some clear progress…" Kingston tried to defend himself, even though he wasn't sure why.  
"Really? Well, in that case I can say that I want you to do your job even better. I don't care how, this murder is solved, but I want it to be solved, soon. And I don't care who you have to arrest to do it! Understand?"  
"Miss.. " but Kingston didn't get the chance to finish his sentence.  
"No, my friend was involved with a lot of lying bastards, who all will do everything to protect their secrets. Including murder…"  
"So, miss, you think one of her friends may have killed miss Davis?"  
"As the matter affect, I do. Brooke knew a lot of secrets and therefore she had a lot of enemies. No doubt someone killed her because she wanted to reveal one of those secrets. Brooke was a good woman, she didn't deserve to die."


	4. No One But You Only The Good Die Young

Sketches Of A Twenty-Something Life: 1.04 No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)

**Fall 2011, McFadden Residence  
**The door opened, Marvin walked in and put his suitcases on the ground. He threw his coat on the chair and planned to take a coke first, when his attention was drawn to Peyton who was standing in the center of the room, obviously waiting for him to come back.

"Oh, it's you," Marvin said annoyed, "my lawyer filed the papers today. As of tomorrow, we are no longer married." He smiled shortly to his soon to be ex-wife before he walked to the kitchen again to get his coke.  
"That's good," Peyton answered, more to herself then to Marvin. "I need to talk to you, though," Peyton said.

"Really?" Marvin walked back to the living room, "now you want to talk?" He shook his head thinking of how he and Peyton had barely talked during their marriage.

"First of all I wanted to say that I am sorry." Peyton nervously looked down when she spoke the words, Marvin was so desperate to hear.  
"Really?" Marvin said again, disgusted by the way Peyton thought everything she had done was fixed with the word 'sorry'.

"I am, truly, Marvin, I never meant for these things to happen…" but she didn't get the chance to say anything else.

"Do you even listen to what you are saying, right now?" Marvin didn't try to suppress his anger. He felt like Peyton deserved being shout at, especially when she dared to say she was sorry. "Do you really think you are sorry for what you did, Peyton? Because I don't think so. In fact, I think you knew exactly what you were doing the entire time."

"Marvin…" Peyton searched for the words to make all of it right, to take all the bitterness that had formed Marvin for the past years and let him be the friendly Mouth again. If it wasn't the political profession Marvin had pursued for all this time, it were the deeds of his friends that made him so cold and heartless.

"You know why I wanted to marry you, Peyton? Not because I was in love with you, but because it was the right thing to do."

"Don't…" Peyton's anger over what happened came up again as Marvin touched a painful subject.

"I didn't love you Peyton, but I had my principals." Marvin drank his coke as if it was beer and it even seemed like he was getting drunk. "I knew," he continued, "I knew exactly why I married you and I even thought I knew why you married me. But I guess I was wrong, now wasn't I? All this time I thought I was the one living the lie. But it was you, Peyton. You planned all of it, just to get my money. Isn't that shady? Isn't that something you should be ashamed of for the rest of your miserable life?"

Peyton didn't want to hear it, the pain was to great and so was the guilt. She walked passed Marvin, grabbed her own coat and walked out the door, ignoring the things Marvin said.

**Summer, 2008**

_Peyton_

"Have you heard anything yet?" Jake was sitting in their living room, biting his nails while looking at the telephone. Peyton had just walked in with Jenny and some groceries.

"No," Jake answered, "I haven't heard anything. But that's good right? Not hearing anything is good… or isn't it?"

"I don't know," Peyton said. She hoped everything would be ok and that Nikki had done what she had asked. A few days ago, there was a hearing about Jake's and Nikki's parenting skills. Everything was explored, from their income to their influence on Jenny. After the hearing Peyton went to Nikki and asked her if there wasn't a friendlier way to settle this. For the sake of Jenny. She was three and a half now, and already being used to Peyton's company. The bond between her and Jenny had always been remarkable, at least for Peyton's part. She loved her like a little sister, or even like her own daughter, though she wasn't quite sure how that felt.

"Maybe you should get some rest. The lawyer will call you when he hears anything, Jenny and I will be fine."

"Maybe I should, I just…what if she wins, Peyton? What if Nikki gets her for the rest of her life?"

"Well, you still get to see her, and I doubt Nikki is that heartless. She won't take her away from you. I promise." The truth was Peyton had no doubt that Nikki would take Jenny away from them. And since mothers have a huge head starts when it comes to getting custody, Peyton had to find another way to get Nikki to drop the lawsuit.

_Rachel and Brooke_

"Brooke!" Rachel packed her suitcases and was ready to go. She looked at her watch, though she already knew she had to be at the airport right now.

"What?" A dark, raw voice answered. When Brooke walked into the hall, Rachel was still surprised. She had seen how much Brooke had changed since Chase had died. She had never forgiven herself and instead of partying it off, she had found herself in drawing and the gothic lifestyle. Rachel had tried to stop it, for fashion's sake, but the new Brooke rather put on a black dress and dark eyeliner then a quit top and a pair of jeans. "Are you leaving?" she asked with a certain boredom in her voice.

"Yeah, I am." Rachel replied. She felt uncomfortable and showed it by putting her hands in her back pockets. "I guess I'll be going then." Rachel didn't quit new if she should hug Brooke.

"See you around." Glenda appeared next to Brooke. Ever since Brooke had found herself in the goth-world, Glenda had been her best friend. Rachel never felt like hanging out with them, because they usually talked about their messed up life, while Rachel felt more like talking about the good things that were left in life. Glenda hadn't been the influence Brooke had needed, but saying that had only made Brooke more angry. What didn't help was that Rachel wasn't as wanted for modeling as she would've hoped. Her agent only set her up with small projects and the tv-show she was about to do was canceled after one episode. With almost no future ahead, Rachel was forced to take the chance, Brooke was reluctant to take; Victoria's Secret. On one side it felt like she betrayed Brooke, but on the other hand, Rachel had sacrificed enough to give Brooke this chance, and that wasn't enough to make her go.

**Fall 2011, McFadden Residence**

Someone knocked on the door, Marvin thought it was a blonde Peyton who didn't realize she had a key, but when he opened the door, it was someone else.

"Rachel?" Marvin said shocked.

"Hello Marvin," Rachel said. "It has been a long time."

"That it has…" Marvin answered, still shocked by the appearance of the redheaded beauty.

"How…how have you been?" He asked carefully.

"My best friend was murdered in a dark alley next to a garbage can, how do you think I've been?"

"Why? Why have you come? Why now, Rachel?"

"Because I need a favor Marvin. I don't trust those wannabe cops and I sure as hell don't trust anybody else. You need to tell me everything, Marvin. Everything that happened between you and Brooke."

"Oh Rachel, that was also a long time ago.." Marvin got sad, remembering how happy he was with Brooke, and how he would never feel that way again. "I don't know if I want to go back there."

"Don't do it for me, Marvin, do it for Brooke. I need to know what drove her to the edge, and who pushed her off. After you, she had some pretty dark days, and granted, a lot was my fault, but you….you really did a number on her…"

**Summer 2008**

_Brooke and Mouth_

"Hey, you." Mouth smiled as he sat down at the table where Brooke was sitting. Just like in High School, all the attention was focused on her, but this time, not because of her beauty, but because of her dark fashion sense.

"Hey." Between the black make-up and the pale face, a smile occurred when Brooke saw Mouth. Chase, Nathan, Rachel, they had all let her down. But there was he, the one that never stopped believing in her…Mouth.

"Where have you been?" She said, trying to cover up her raw voice.

"Well, everywhere really. The internship is awesome, I get to see so much, of politics, of our country. Brooke, I can't think you enough for suggesting this to me." He smiled again.

"No thanks," Brooke suddenly felt happier then she had felt in a long time. She didn't know if it was Mouth or Mouth pursuing his dream, the dream she suggested.

"But I came back, Rachel told me how you were doing…"

"Rachel?" Brooke felt a sudden rush of anger float through her body. "That lying, backstabbing whore called you?"

"Brooke, you shouldn't…"

"Why not? She admits artwork, artwork she stole from my designs, and pretends to do it for me, only to walk away with it herself! I never want to see that red riding whore again! And don't you dare, Mouth, don't you dare take her side."

"I'm not, Brooke, I'm not." Mouth was a bit scared by Brooke's rage. Normally it would've looked charming how Brooke got mad about something, but now, it felt like a dark shadow had taken over her.

"I want to help you, Brooke. I'm your friend."

_Lucas and Haley_

Lucas kissed Haley's soft lips, he stroke her long, brown hair as he kissed her. "I love you." He told her. He rolled off of her and stretched out. That had been the best sex he had in a long time. He smiled satisfied and didn't notice that tears were rolling from Haley's eyes.

"You know," Lucas said, more to the sealing then to Haley, "who would've guessed that after these months of being there for each other, we finally would be more than just friends. He smiled. He jumped off their bed, put on some clothes, said goodbye and went to therapy. Life without one arm had been surprisingly easy. Though things a sex weren't as easy as before, they went perfectly. Lucas was satisfied with his new life. After months of supporting Haley, now Nathan was gone, they had grown closer than before, and unlike their youth, Lucas finally saw Haley as a woman, not as a friend. If the progress he had been making with therapy would result into some movement in his arm, his life would finally be good again.

Haley put on a shirt. She wept the tears off her face. Lucas had been so good to her, that when he kissed her the first time, she didn't stop him. She regretted it. Ever since, Lucas pretended they were in a relationship, not minding Haley's part in all of it. It seemed like he had become a different person. Now Peyton left him for Jake, he suddenly didn't seem to care about everybody's feelings. He cut every connection Haley had with the outside world. She didn't go to work, school or friends and she hadn't seen anybody else, but Lucas. But now, she had to. She put on more clothes, grabbed her wallet and walked out of the apartment, thinking about how she could end up in such a loveless relationship with Lucas no less…


	5. Come Back To Me

Sketches Of A Twenty-Something Life: 1.05 Come Back To Me  
_Previously on Sketches Of A Twenty-Something Life: _While playing basketball Lucas got a stroke after getting not enough air because someone poked him in his chest. It paralyzed his left arm. Peyton couldn't deal with Lucas' resentment towards everything and left to go to New York where she received a message from Jake who needed her help to win a lawsuit Nikki filed against him to win soul custody of Jenny. After losing their son, the relationship between Haley and Nathan was heading to the cliffs. Nathan started an affair with Brooke, one that broke Haley's heart and drove her into the arms of Lucas. Nathan left to go to Los Angeles, leaving Brooke heartbroken. Rachel chose for herself after Brooke failed to pursue her dream to enter Victoria's Secret again, leaving an angry Brooke with nobody but Mouth. Years later, in 2011, Brooke has been murdered and Rachel is determined to find out who did it. Peyton and Lucas have a secret to hide, while Peyton is getting divorced from Marvin. How did they come that far? What happened before? Who killed Brooke and what other secrets do the residents of Tree Hill have?

**Winter 2009  
**_Peyton  
_"Jake..."  
"Don't. It's not your fault."  
"But I feel like it is. If I hadn't..."  
"Yeah, you're right. It is your fault. You had to cross the line, you had to go on on your own...but it's alright."  
The controlled way Jake expressed his anger was obviously something he picked up from being a dad. But Peyton felt like she deserved to be shouted at, the calm tone in which Jake spoke to her, was not the punishment she deserved. She crossed the line this time, and she knew it.  
"I'm really sorry..." Tears rolled over her face. She regret so many things. Why did she had to talk to Nikki again? Why did she let her anger slide and threaten to take Jenny away from her?  
"Sorry isn't going to make this better, Peyton, you know that. I lost Jenny, for real this time. I don't have...I don't have anything to fight the judge's sentence. Jenny is in full custody of Nikki, and you made that happen."  
"Jake, please!" Peyton needed his forgiveness. He needed to know that everything she did, was for him and Jenny. She wanted to make Nikki understand that Jenny needed both her parents, but in stead Nikki fought harder and with Peyton's threat to take Jenny away, the judge was in no favor to Jake.  
"You need to go." Peyton was shocked by Jake's decision. Did he really mean that?  
"Jake..."  
"Peyton!" Jake raised his voice, but didn't move an inch. He kept staring out the window. "I need you to go. And I need you, to never come back again." He turned around and looked at the girl he once loved. "I want you out of my life."

_Lucas and Haley  
_"How have you been?" Lucas kissed Haley on her cheek. Proudly he lifted up his bag with his left arm. Therapy had gone great. Feeling had completely restored in his arm and after months of training, he was now allowed to pick up light pieces, so he filled the bag with yesterday's paper and pretended it was heavy.  
"That's really fantastic." Haley smiled, the way she had been smiling ever since she kissed Lucas. With a regret in her heart, but faked joy in her eyes. Lucas slided the bag in his other arm and threw it on the couch. He kissed Haley's other cheek and grabbed the spoon and took some yogurt.  
"So I was thinking. Maybe we can go do something fun today. Perhaps with the guys?"  
"Oh, that sounds fun, but you know what. I actually have a meeting in a couple of minutes." Haley shoved the flyer of the application under her bowl of yoghurt and smiled at Lucas again.  
"Well, that's a shame. Well, if you don't mind, I can go to the guys and perhaps see you later when you're ready? What meeting is it anyway?"  
"It's an...a book club!"  
"A book club...?" Lucas asked surprised.  
"Yes, you see I finished all of my books...five times in these past months and I like to try something new." She smiled again and was hoping for his approval. Ever since they got together Lucas had been keeping her from the outside world. She felt like a prisoner in her own home and the worsted part was, she didn't want to hurt Lucas by ending their messed up relationship. She stared at the flyer. It briefly explained how a college drop out could get back in with the new semester in February. Ever since she acknowledged James' absence in her life, Haley had felt alone and meaningless. She realised that she was the valedictorian and now a college drop out, a practical divorce and a sad women locked in a relationship that was no more then a lie. She walked to the window and saw how a smiling Lucas drove away when suddenly the doorbell rang. With a strange feeling she walked towards the door, it was a sudden urge of freedom, the possibility that what ever was behind that door would set her free, would change her life and would make her happy again. She opened it.  
"Hello," Nathan said.

**Fall 2011  
**_Nathan and Lucas_  
"So he's free."  
"Yep." The brothers sat on the stairway to Lucas' apartment.  
"Dan's free and has turned to God," Nathan said, laughing to himself about the irony of Dan being a man of God.  
"Well, I guess it runs in the family," Lucas said. "Who knew the Scotts were so religious?"  
"Who knew there was a judge in the world who would buy the lies Dan spread about turning to faith?" Nathan's anger rose to head again and he had the sudden urge to hit something.  
"We can live without him, Nathan. We have for the past four years. We can live without him." Lucas stood up and walked back to the apartment. Nathan was glad Lucas had such faith left in life, but Nathan knew that Dan was far from being out of their lives.

_Tree Hill Police Department_  
"Have you found something yet?" Rachel asked to the two men with sandwiches in their hands.  
"Miss Gatina, how nice of you to stop by," Kingston said with a obvious tone of sarcasm.  
"Thought so. I wanted to stop buy to let you know I am available for your convenience."  
"Excuse me?" Danny asked with a grin.  
"Like I said. My PA has found more then you can possibly find and even though I admire you for keeping the details on Brooke's death secret for the press, I find your lack of skills to track down the killer very typical for the Tree Hill police department."  
"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Danny asked offended.  
"Let's just say the amount of cases I could crack are a lot higher then the amount of cases that are solved by this station. The first big case this town ever saw was the High School shooting and with that one the killer had to go to the police himself before the case was closed..."  
"Actually, we had no reason to believe there was a second killer..." Danny tried to defend his town.  
"I don't care. It's bad reputation and I don't see you changing it by solving this one. For the last time. I am available for information..."  
"Then why not share the information immediately instead of letting us beg for it, Miss Gatina," Kingston cut her off.  
"Very well. You want to know what I know? Brace yourself, because I swear you won't believe it."

**Winter 2009  
**_Skills' apartment  
_"Hey Mouth, what's up, you sounded kind of shocked when I called you. Did you really think I wouldn't call you?" Lucas smiled at Mouth, ignoring his worried looks at the bedroom door.  
"Where's Skills?" Lucas asked.  
"Skills hasn't been feeling very well lately, Luke," Mouth answered.  
"Try forever." Fergie and Junk stood up from the couch, suddenly drawing Lucas' attention.  
"What's up then?" Lucas asked, still joyful and not noticing the look Fergie and Junk threw at each other. Mouth hesitated.  
"Uhm, well, a while a go he told us his problems. And, they aren't so good."  
"What kind of problems," Lucas asked in a tone that showed he was determined to stay happy.  
"He got kicked out of college," Fergie answered.  
"What?" Lucas was surprised and it was like someone hit him in his face because reality started to kick in.  
"He has been down ever since we graduated from High School, and it started to affect his performance while playing the game," Junk said.  
"Yeah and when he started to get really bad the school warned him to take away his scholar ship," Fergie reprised.  
"But Skills got mad and attacked the coach, he's been kicked out immediatly," Junk added.  
"What? Since when?"  
"November," Mouth said.  
"And you didn't say anything to me?" Lucas asked surprised.  
"Why? You are suddenly so busy with playing house with Haley!" Mouth jumped up from his chair, he was obviously mad at Lucas.  
"Look, sorry guys, I have been busy lately..."  
"Don't give me that, Luke. You've been a lousy friend lately and you know it." Mouth turned away from him and walked towards the bedroom door. He knocked but no one answered.  
"Let me try," Lucas said, still a bit shocked by Mouth's words.  
"Hey, Skills! How are you holding up?" Lucas said to the door. It stayed quiet for a while.  
"Luke is that you, doug?" They heard from the other room.  
"Yeah, can I come in?" Lucas asked. The door opened up slightly and Lucas slipped right in. He closed the door behind him, leaving Mouth, Fergie and Junk in the other room.  
"How are you doing?" Lucas asked again.  
"It's alright," Skills said. Lucas had never seen him this way. Skills was sitting on the side of his bed, looking at the floor. Bottles of alcohol were lined up on the nightstand and empty bottles were laying around everywhere.  
"How is your arm?" Skills asked suddenly.  
"It's fine, thanks. It's actually healing nicely. It'll never be the same but still..."  
"It's my fault," Skills cut him off.  
"What is?" Lucas asked confused.  
"Your arm. It's my fault Luke." Skills looked up, and there was sadness in his eyes.  
"How was it.."  
"I am not a nice player, Luke, you know that. I wanted to steal the ball from you and I poked you. I slammed my elbow in your chest. It's my fault you were unconscious. It's my fault you had that stroke."  
"What?" Lucas actually smiled. This had to be a joke.  
"I'm so sorry Luke. I try to get passed it, I tried not to let it get to me. But you and Peyton broke up because of it, and you couldn't write...you couldn't even help Whitey coach!"  
"Do you mean that?" Lucas looked at Skills as if he just got hit in his face again. An devastating feeling of betrayal forced itself into his heart and he couldn't help but feel hatred towards the guy sitting in front of him.  
"You...you ruined my life!" He shouted. "Everything is worse, because of YOU!" Lucas didn't held back. He blamed Skills for everything that had happened in his life. He kicked against the bed, he shouted so hard Mouth, Fergie and Junk could hear everything in the next room. When he was finished, Lucas looked at Skills and said: "I thought you were my friend."  
"Luke...I didn't..." Skills tried to ask for forgiveness, but Lucas eyes told him that he wouldn't get it.  
"But you are not my friend, Skills. You are out of my life. You are no longer my friend and I will NEVER ever forgive you for doing this to me!" Lucas turned around, kicked open the door and stormed out.  
"I didn't mean to...I never meant to... Skills put his hand on his face and fell on the bed. He just lost one of his closest friends and it felt like he would never get him back.

_Nathan and Haley  
_"Nathan..." Haley's heart had stopped beating at the sight of her husband, after all, they were still married. For a moment, it felt natural, like the way it once was every day. But then Haley realized what brought them to this point, and the feeling of unforgiveness came back.  
"Don't, let me explain," Nathan pressed his fingertops on Haley's lips.  
"I want to let you know I'm back again, and I am going to fight for you again," Nathan continued, still holding his hand to Haley's mouth.  
"I love you, always have, always will. Always and forever, right? I'm going to stick by that. I know what I did is unforgivable, and I can never change that. But I left thinking that it was for the best to let us break up, but it wasn't Haley. It isn't! We belong together, you know that, don't you?" He stepped closer, looking far into Haley's eyes. "I love you, and I know, that deep down, you still love me. You have to, right? It's not over, and I will win you back." He stroke Haley's face with both hands, kissed her passionately on her mouth and turned around. Haley felt happier then she had in a long time. Like life suddenly came rushing back to her. She grabbed Nathan's arm, forcing him to turn around and kissed him. She wrapped her arms around him, never wanting to let go again, she pulled him inside and they closed the door.

_Lucas and Peyton  
_Lucas ran through his mother's house. Angry at Skills, devastated by the news, he couldn't believe what he just heard and he wasn't quite ready to talk about it with anyone, especially not with Haley. He grabbed a bottle of Scotch and put it to his lips. He wanted to forget this. He wanted to forget his pain, the fact he could never use his arm the way he used to and most of all, he wanted to forget Skills. He closed his eyes as he swallowed the drink and felt the alcohol tingling in his mouth. He didn't see that someone walked in.  
"Lucas," Peyton said. Lucas felt a slight rush of anger towards life...could his day get any worse?  
"What's wrong?" She asked.  
"Nothing. What are you doing here," Lucas asked thorough.  
"I'm back again," Peyton said.  
"That's great, Peyton." Lucas put the bottle to his lips again and drank even more to make sure Peyton's words weren't coming through to him.  
"Lucas.." Peyton played with her fingers, something she always did when she wanted to talk seriously.  
"Peyton, don't!" Lucas felt what was coming.  
"I love you. I still love you."  
"Damn it, Peyton!" He smacked the bottle on the counter, having the luck that it didn't break. "You can't do this. You can't leave me for Jake, come back and just expect me to fall in your arms again."  
"Lucas, I know, I've made mistakes."  
"Yeah, Peyton, you have but you know what? You won't anymore, because I can guarantee you, we're done, finished, over. I'm with Haley now, and we're happy and no one is getting in the way of that!" Peyton gasped for air as she heard what Lucas had to say. Lucas took another shot and walked away, leaving the bottle next to a surprised Peyton.

**Fall 2011  
**_Lucas and Peyton  
_"Luke!" Peyton rushed into the living room.  
"What's wrong?" Lucas asked putting his cup of coffee on the kitchen counter.  
"I found something. I broke into Rachel's home."  
"You did WHAT?" Lucas shouted. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.  
"What? If we really want to clear our name, and stop living in fear, we have to pick sides, Luke. And she's not on ours." Peyton waved with the file in her hand.  
"You stole something from Rachel? How long do you think it'll take before she finds out?"  
"With a bit of luck? Never. I copied the entire file, the only way she's going to know is if she sees that there's no paper left in her copy machine and well, with Rachel's brain it's safe to say she won't. But that's not the big part. You won't believe what I found."  
"What? What did you find?" Lucas asked excited.  
"We didn't do it, Lucas. "See, we didn't do it!" She pointed at the file. "I have proof, we didn't kill..."  
"Brooke? Yes, you did." Rachel appeared in the doorway, next to her was Marvin. "Did you really think you could steal the most important thing from my home and I wouldn't notice it. Honey, you're fat ass basically guided me to this place," Rachel continued.  
"We didn't..." Peyton started, but Rachel wouldn't let her.  
"You killed her, and we have proof. No matter what you think is in that file. I know the truth," Rachel looked at Peyton in a way that suggested she tried to kill Peyton with her look, behind Rachel detective Kingston and his partner Danny appeared.  
"I know what you did," Marvin said, "You won't get away with it."  
"You lying bastard!" Peyton shouted at Marvin. "I didn't do anything!"  
"Yes, you did. You killed her in cold blood, you killed your best friend! And now you are going to pay!" Rachel shouted.  
"No, I didn't, it was just an accident, I didn't kill her, I swear I didn't!" Peyton cried as she tried to convince everybody she was innocent. Lucas, who had always believed her story, started to have doubt again. Though he loved Peyton dearly, his trust in her never really restored. Was it possible he had been trying to protect her and himself for something she did? Was it possible, that Peyton lied and did kill Brooke?  
"Miss Sawyer," Kingston started, ignoring the screams of Peyton who was struggling to stay free while Danny forced handcuffs on her.  
"You are under arrest for the murder of Brooke Penelope David. Anything you say, can and will be used against you in the court of law. You may have your attorney present, but..." He grinned,"I don't think lawyers have come up with an excuse for murdering one of your closest friends... Take her away!"


End file.
